Holland said putting someone on injured reserve and signing Cleary is not an option. They would need to trade or waive somebody.

“I like him on the team, the coach wants him back, I know all of the players want him back,'' Holland said. “He’s a leader in the locker room. He’s a good pro. He’s versatile. He can play either wing, up and down the lineup, third, second, first or fourth lines.

Holland said they met with Cleary Wednesday out of interest and respect.

“He’s meant a lot to our franchise,'' Holland said. “Everybody here believes we’re a better team if he’s on our team, but we have to weigh if we can make it happen.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter to me if there are other teams in the mix. I’m trying to do what we can do. If it’s enough great, if it’s not there’s nothing we can do about it. I’ve explained that to his agent and I’ve explained that to Dan.''

Possibly less ice for Tatar? Possibly Tatar gets bumped down the depth chart? Not to be a jerk, but it's not a difficult concept.

I think, realistically, it probably wouldn't have a huge impact on Tatar. But to say there'd be no impact at all? At the end of the day, a roster spot is a roster spot. I don't think theoretical lines are quite as important here as one might think (i.e. us thinking, "Well, Tatar's gonna be on the third line, so what's the deal?" doesn't really mean anything). And honestly, I'll be surprised if Tatar doesn't spend a good deal of time on the fourth line, given, well, history.

Ulltimately, I'm not outright opposed to Cleary coming back. But it has to make sense.

Not to be a jerk, but does bringing Cleary back affect Zetterberg and Datsyuk's ice time? Alfredsson and Franzen? Weiss? How does having Cleary on the team over Tootoo, Eaves and Emmerton hurt them? Cleary playing over Samuelsson and Bertuzzi. This hurts them how? Tatar will most likely be playing with Andersson and Nyquist. So Babs now says 'Cleary is back so now I will not play my 3rd line as much.' I don't see it. It makes sense to me. Babs wants Cleary on this team. I guess not everyone understand this.

Not to be a jerk, but does bringing Cleary back affect Zetterberg and Datsyuk's ice time? Alfredsson and Franzen? Weiss? How does having Cleary on the team over Tootoo, Eaves and Emmerton hurt them? Cleary playing over Samuelsson and Bertuzzi. This hurts them how? Tatar will most likely be playing with Andersson and Nyquist. So Babs now says 'Cleary is back so now I will not play my 3rd line as much.' I don't see it. It makes sense to me. Babs wants Cleary on this team. I guess not everyone understand this.

i guess not everyone understands that babcock is human and can make a poor decision regarding the value of a player. just because babcock likes him doesnt mean hes the best option or a good fit for the teams future. can you guys seriously come up with some better material????

if anything, shouldnt everyone be pointing out ad nauseum that 'if cleary was so great and such a playoff warrior he would have been signed by now. obviously ken holland is smarter than all of you'????

i guess not everyone understands that babcock is human and can make a poor decision regarding the value of a player. just because babcock likes him doesnt mean hes the best option or a good fit for the teams future. can you guys seriously come up with some better material????

if anything, shouldnt everyone be pointing out ad nauseum that 'if cleary was so great and such a playoff warrior he would have been signed by now. obviously ken holland is smarter than all of you'????

It doesn't really matter. The Detroit Red Wings are not paying you for your opinion. They are paying Ken Holland and Mike Babcock. This material is the actual truth.

Those of you who are panicking should note that the Wings would still need to clear three roster spots and 2.5m of cap space. I doubt it will happen.

Play on the first or second lines? Is Holland insane?

Why is it you've always exaggerated what is said in these articles? Holland said he can play on those lines, not that he necessarily will. If you'd read the article, you'd see that he also said Cleary could play on the third or fourth lines.

It doesn't really matter. The Detroit Red Wings are not paying you for your opinion. They are paying Ken Holland and Mike Babcock. This material is the actual truth.

So why even be on this board? I mean we should all just blindly support the Wings and it's not like we have any control over decisions anyway. Whelp it's been fun boys looks like lgw.com is going away

He's not back with the Wings.

Those of you who are panicking should note that the Wings would still need to clear three roster spots and 2.5m of cap space. I doubt it will happen.

Why is it you've always exaggerated what is said in these articles? Holland said he can play on those lines, not that he necessarily will. If you'd read the article, you'd see that he also said Cleary could play on the third or fourth lines.

He shouldn't play on any of the lines, he is pure garbage

There's no I in team, but there's a U in c***, so don't be little jealous c***s

Hopefully it's a contract that can be buried easily in the minors if need be.

You know I would normally say that's a bit harsh but I am dead serious. Any GM that feels Cleary is a productive member of a SC team obviously has lost it and should no longer have control, and any coach who would play such a useless player on the top 2 lines or even dress him should no longer be leading a team. What's next Cleary to play on the Olympic team too?

This is one of the most bizarre signings if Cleary ends up back in Detroit. Are Samuelsson, Bertuzzi and Cleary all really going to members of the team? I thought Holland had a great summer, but this move is a real damper.